


Feeding Time

by SlantedKnitting



Series: merlin memory month 2019 [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animals, Fluff, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 13:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18800887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlantedKnitting/pseuds/SlantedKnitting
Summary: Merlin is late, and the timer is going off, and Arthur isn't going to let the baby bunny starve on his watch.





	Feeding Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Merlin Memory Month](https://merlinmemorymonth.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr.
> 
> Day 4, Path 1: Caring

The alarm in the kitchen is going off and Merlin isn't home yet.

Arthur keeps his eyes on the clock, watching the minutes tick by.

It's not like he can't do it himself. He's seen Merlin do it a million times. He's even helped to do it once or twice, when Merlin asked for it.

But he doesn't want to.

It's not his stupid pet.

It's Merlin's stupid pet.

Merlin's stupid pet rabbit that he adopted from an abandoned cardboard box on his walk home one day.

It's funny looking. It's mostly white but it's back half is black, except for the white paws, which makes it looks like it's wearing pants. It's also got black ears and a patch of black under its chin.

Merlin likes to say it's a formal wear rabbit.

Arthur thinks it looks like a Chippendales rabbit.

Ten minutes go by before Arthur starts worrying.

Admittedly, Arthur knows nothing about taking care of pets. Merlin is the one who did all the research and bought all the food and grooming supplies and housing materials and took the stupid thing to the vet.

It's Merlin's pet.

But Merlin isn't home and the timer in the kitchen is going off and that means it's time to feed the thing.

It's still a baby.

Babies are supposed to be fed every few hours. That much, Arthur knows. He knows it's true for human babies and obviously it's true for animal babies too, otherwise Merlin wouldn't set a timer.

But Merlin isn't home.

Fifteen minutes pass before Arthur starts to feel uneasy. If he doesn't feed the thing and it dies, Merlin is never going to forgive him. And if he's really honest, Arthur wouldn't be too happy with himself either. It's not his pet but he's not into mistreating animals.

Arthur gets up to turn the timer off. He prepares the milk the same way that Merlin does - warming it, letting it cool back down, testing it, and putting it into the stupid little baby bottle.

He takes the stupid tiny fluffy thing out of its cage and sits on the couch with it. It scampers around his lap at first, trying to find the most comfortable place to sit. Arthur scoops it up before it can settle on his balls. It's small and he can hold it in one hand. It looks up at him, its nose twitching curiously.

Sighing and trying not to smile at the stupid little thing, Arthur lifts up the bottle with his free hand and holds it in front of the rabbit's face. The rabbit squirms forward on his palm and starts drinking the milk.

It's a little more enthusiastic than it normally is and Arthur feels bad about making it wait so long. The poor thing doesn't deserve to go hungry just because Merlin's late in getting home.

Arthur hears the familiar electronic clicking of a mobile phone's camera going off. He looks up to see Merlin staring at him with an alarmingly wide grin.

"Were you late on purpose?" Arthur asks, trying to sound as angry as possible. It's strangely hard to feel any sort of negative emotions with the rabbit feeding in his hands.

"No." Merlin pockets his mobile and crosses the room to sit next to Arthur. "Do you want me to take over?" he asks, holding out his hands.

Arthur curls his fingers around the rabbit, holding it in place as it drains the last of the bottle.

"It's fine," he mutters. "Almost done anyway."

Merlin smirks and kisses Arthur's cheek. "I'll leave you two to bond."

"There will be no bonding!" Arthur calls out as Merlin gets up and disappears into their bedroom. "No! Bonding!" He looks back down at the rabbit, who is cleaning off its whiskers. "No bonding," he says again, pointlessly.

The rabbit looks up at him and lets out some sort of content squeaking sound and Arthur sighs. The stupid thing is adorable and Merlin is never going to let him live this down.


End file.
